Do We Ever Forget The Ones We Love
by Hypnotoad76
Summary: Annie is revealed to be a fairy and is forced to return to the fairy realm, leaving the world as if she never existed. Or did she?
1. Chapter 1

Annie eyes slowly opened as she heard loud yelling and various crashes outside. If she had to guess it sounded like it was coming from the dreamatorium. Despite the noises waking her up she actually smiled at hearing them. After the school wide pillow fort/blanket fort Troy Abed civil war it was comforting to have a return to normalcy with the two of them. They were like brothers to her, and it pained her greatly to see them fight like that.

She pulled her comforter down and stretched catlike out on her bed. Even though it was Saturday she had a lot to get done. She had to do some studying for Biology and she wanted to vacuum the apartment and tidy up her room. And she had to stop by the sleep center to try and plead her case (they wanted to disqualify her from getting credit after they found out that she had brought two stuffed animals instead of just one.) She started brushing some wayward hair behind her ear when she felt her locket glow against her skin.

Annie froze in terror, breathing rapidly as her hand went over the heart shaped piece of jewelry. She shook her head defiantly, knowing exactly what that glow meant. It can't be now, she thought. I need more time. I need more time.

The air in her room shimmered. She looked over as a passage of light formed by her bed. A large figure stepped through the light, momentarily obscured in shadow from the brightness. Then the light disappeared and the man came fully into view. He was a big man, both in height and statue, and had long dark hair and a closely cropped full beard. But the most striking feature one would notice were the wings protruding from his back. They were large and crystal-like, similar to those on a dragon fly. But in spite of their delicate appearance she was well aware that they would support his bulky frame and allow him to fly at great heights for many miles. In many ways it was fitting for a fairy to have wings like that. Everyone thought of them as delicate harmless creatures, when in reality they were strong courageous beings.

"Greetings Annabelle. It's been a while."

"Please don't, my name is Annie."

The man groaned deeply as he approached her. "You can continue trying to convince yourself you're something you're not. But we both know who you really are. You're Princess Annabelle, daughter of royalty and future ruler of the fairy realm."

"I'm, I'm not…" Instinctively she cried out "Help! Troy! Abed! Help!"

"They can't hear you child. Whatever happens in this room while I am here can't be experienced by those lowly creatures."

"THEY'RE NOT LOWLY CREATURES!"

Instead of the fairy king chastising her for her outburst, he actually smiled. "I can see now that I was wise to have sent you to this realm. While I have little love for these creatures, you now surely do. When your time comes to rule you will be able to show them greater understanding then I was ever able to."

"Please, father. Please don't send me back. I want to stay here."

"Annabelle, you do not belong here. You are not a human. You are a fairy."

"I, I don't feel. I've lived like them."

"Yes, I'm well aware. You haven't simply lived among them, you've fully adapted to their way of life. I've observed you closely since you first came here five years ago, and not once did you ever use any of your abilities. Maybe that's why you have such understanding and compassion for these creatures. But you don't belong here Annabelle. You're not one of them. I know you've missed the forests and warmth of your home land. I mean, you turned to human drugs to try and coup with being here."

"Yes I know father. But that was when I first came here. Now I love it here. I have friends, family, a life here. I want to help people and make their lives better."

"You will be able to help these creatures, when you return home."

Tears fell down her cheeks as she looked up at her father. "I don't want to go. I love it here. I love being human."

"But Annabelle, you're not human. You're just pretending to be one. You knew this was the way it was going to be since you first came here. Your time here was always just meant to be temporary. You've learned much here. But it's time you came home, and started preparing for your birth right of ruling your kingdom."

As Annie shook her head defiantly her father's voice took on an angrier tone. "Annabelle, I would prefer you to leave here willingly, with grace and dignity. But if I have to drag you back kicking and screaming, then so be it."

Annie sniffed loudly, knowing there was no way out. If her father wanted her to come home then there was nothing she could do about it. "Can I at least say goodbye first?"

"Annabelle, we both know it will be much harder if you see those creatures again then if you just leave now. And it won't matter anyway. They won't remember you once you are gone."

Panic seeped through her as she heard what he said. "They won't remember me!"

"It's better this way Annabelle. This way I save them the pain they will feel from your absence. Would you rather they remember you and spend pointless time searching for you?"

Annie chocked back a sob as she shook her head, knowing and hating that he was right. "So, everything that's happened. Everything I've done…"

"However you've touched their lives here will have still happened. They will just remember it being caused by either themselves or someone else." He gently reached down and pulled her to her feet. "It's time my daughter."

Annie nodded her head as she scrunched up her face and concentrated. Slits in her back formed and opened up as her wings uncurled and burst through her pajama top. She groaned as she stiffly beat them. She hadn't used her wings in five years and it hurt to use them.

"It uncomfortable now. But soon it will feel natural to you again. Of course, if you had used your wings here it now wouldn't be uncomfortable to use them." Taking hold of his daughter's hand he waved his other hand as a doorway of light reappeared. The two fairies stepped through the doorway, which vanished a moment later. Instantly everything in the room disappeared, revealing Troy and Abed's bunk beds and all of their stuff messily strung around.

And just like that all of Annie's memories and physical evidence evaporated from the world, like she had never existed at all.


	2. Chapter 2

Jeff barely looked up from his phone as he walked into the study room and took his usual seat. "Ok, I'm here." He continued texting for a few moments before looking up from his phone, seeing six pairs of eyes looking back at him. "Can I help you with something?"

"You are aware that we have to get this assignment right, or else we'll fail biology. Right?" Shirley said.

"Yes I know Shirley. But come on, how hard can it be? All we have to do is create a portable habitat. Just put some straw in a show box, stick a hamster in it and we're done."

"I think Professor Kane is going to want a little more effort than that." Britta said.

"And we're not using my hamster. She's still traumatized from that maze Abed and Troy made her run. " Joey said.

"That was an awesome maze. It had trap doors, and moats, and pits, and water that sprayed her if she walked on the wrong tile." Troy said excitedly.

"I don't care. Betsey now shakes anytime I take her out of her cage."

"What kind of a name is Betsey for a hamster anyway?" Britta said mockingly.

"A gay name." Pierce said with a smirk.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were queen of animal names Burbles. Explain why you think Betsey is a bad name for a hamster but Daniel is a great name for a cat."

"OK!" Jeff yelled, hoping he could stop their latest round of arguments before it started. "Let's put a time out on arguing about animal names and focus on this stupid project." Jeff groaned in frustration as Britta and Joey glared at each other. The two of them hadn't gotten along at all ever since that very first study meeting. He thought she was a phony who didn't really care about helping people, and she thought he was a jerk who only wanted women to wait on him hand and foot. "Can you please put a lid on your arguing until we get this done?"

"Fine." Britta grumbled.

"I'll do it if Blondie does it." Joey said under his breath.

"If you call me Blondie one more time-."

"You'll what, stop investing in blond hair dye? You know that's bad for the ozone layer, right?" Joey said with a smirk.

"OH, THAT IS-." Britta jumped up, ready to pummel the man. "My hair is as natural as the day I was born!"

"If you say so." He laughed as he started packing up his stuff, readjusting his glasses out of habit. "OK, I have an eye exam I have to get to, so I'll see everyone tomorrow."

"Will you-?"

"Yes Troy, I'm e-mailing everyone my notes once I type them up. Adios byebyos."

Britta groaned as Joey left the room. "Explain to me again why we don't kick him out?"

"Well, he does help us study. And with the exception of you he seems to get along with everyone." Abed said.

"Plus aren't we always saying we're family, and that family sticks together or what not." Shirley said.

"I don't care, he's maddening. I'd take Pierce any day over him."

Pierce smiled before frowning and looking over at Britta "Hey! Was that a complement or an insult?"

"Sounded like a little bit of both. But I could be wrong." Abed said.

Just then Britta looked over and a slow smile came across her face. "Well look what we have here." She reached over the table and grabbed the pen that was lying on the table in front of Joey's spot. "Seems Mr. Misogynistic forgot his pen. Maybe I'll see how well it holds up after driving over it"

"Um, Britta." Shirley sweetly said. "It's not nice to steal someone's property."

"I don't care. This pen has a date with death."

"Ok, Britta relax." Jeff said.

"_No, you relax Jeff. Or are you scared that if you do, my pen will fall out!" _

"_You precocious little bitch!" _

Jeff quickly pushed his chair back, shaking his head at what he saw. He was so focused that he didn't notice everyone stop arguing and look over at him.

"Jeff, are you ok sweetie?" Shirley asked.

"Yea, you look like you just saw a ghost." Troy said.

"I'm, I'm fine. Just sick of everyone arguing. Let's just study all ready."

Everyone still looked concerned, but let the matter go as they finally started actually studying. Jeff was glad they weren't talking to him. He was shocked enough by what he saw. He had been sitting there when all of a sudden something flashed through his mind, as clear as if it was actually happening. He was in the study room arguing with a young woman. They were furious with each other and then they started quickly taking off their clothes. But somehow he knew they weren't removing their clothes to have sex. For one thing Britta was right there with them (and she had clearly shot down his suggestions at a three way when they were sleeping together last year.) Also it just seemed too heated for that to be the case. Though he had no idea why they were stripping down in the study room.

"Excuse me, I'll be back in a sec." Leaving his stuff Jeff quickly walked to the bathroom. Once there he splashed cold water on his face and stared at himself in the mirror. What was that, he thought. Did he just have a stroke and seeing things that never happened was a symptom? He put two fingers on his neck to feel his pulse, but it seemed fine. He breathed in and out and was able to do that with no problem. Maybe nothing was physically wrong with him in spite of what happened.

He tried to place where he might know the woman from, but he had never seen her before in his life. She had appeared young, and while he didn't get a real good look at her, seemed pretty attractive. The only real feature he was able to remember was her eyes. She had these almost unnaturally big blue eyes. While they blazed in anger in his vision, he suspected they could hold a great many emotions in them.

He scoffed as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was getting sappy over some imaginary woman. That was a new low even for him, and he had attacked the study table with an ax not that long ago. If he had to guess he probably saw her in a movie, and for some reason associated her in his life because he was bored. Yea, that was what happened.

Jeff splashed water on his face one more time before drying it off and leaving the bathroom to return back to the study room. Once he got there he saw Joey yelling at Britta while she stood on the table, holding his pen high above her.

Yup, everything's normal, he thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Annie continued to look out into the trees as the honey bees chatted in her ears and took locks of her hair as they weaved it into an elegant braid. She missed the bees from this realm. The bees from the human world didn't talk and share stories. Instead all they did was buzz and sting you if you got to close to them.

She had been back in the fairy realm for a week now. And she had to admit that there were things she missed here that she couldn't experience in the human world. Like the forests. The forests in the fairy world seemed to glow with an inner light. And they went on forever. As far as she knew no one had ever reached an edge or any section that wasn't made up of lush greenery.

There were other things she had missed. Like her friends and all the ones she used to see. Like Mr. Joheya, the old man who lived in a homemade tree house. When she was younger she always visited him to hear him tell stories. He sold homemade honey cakes at the market and whenever he made a batch he always used to put one aside specifically for her.

Most of all she had missed her mother. Annie had been overjoyed when she arrived home and saw her for the first time in five years. She had ran right over and wrapped her daughter in a tight hug, telling her how much she had missed her. Annie cried silent tears of joy as she settled into her mother's embrace. When she was in the human world she had had no attachment to the woman who was suppose to look after her (Annie always suspected that her father deliberately picked a cold uncaring woman so there was no chance of possibly competing for parental affection when she returned.) So having a nurturing loving mother once more filled her with joy.

She supposed she also missed her father. But since he was the one who had forced her to leave she still had a lot of anger and hurt towards him at the moment.

Her father had been ecstatic when she had returned home, along with all the other citizens of their kingdom. As soon as she arrived she had been surrounded by men and women, wanting to touch her and let her know how much she had been missed. She had been paraded though the roads, with squirrels and birds sprinkling down acorns and leaves. When they got to the capital her father lead her to the town square podium, proudly putting her on display as he took the microphone.

"Welcome citizens!" He joyously said as he looked out at the mingled sea of pale and green faces. "It is my great pleasure to welcome back our nation's daughter. But first a few moments to reflect back on our history, and how far we've come. Over one hundred years ago our two kingdoms, the Kapitoses and the Geragiouses, were excessively hostel towards each other. It seemed it was only a matter of time before war would break out. But then I was introduced to the lovely Ilma, princess of the Sindel household and ruling family of the Geragious kingdom. I managed to court the fair maiden and have her accept my proposal of marriage, which joined out two kingdoms together." He extended a hand as his wife stood next to her husband, a radiant smile blossoming upon her face. With the exception of her skin color (which was a vibrant lush green), she was the spitting image of her daughter.

"As I recall, our union wasn't immediately met with enthusiasm. While right now I see fairies with pale and green skin all mixed and mingled together, I remember a time when meetings would be held and everyone would divide themselves based on skin color. Fairies with pale skin would stand on one side while those with green skin stood on the other. But thankfully our two nations began to realize that we weren't that dissimilar after all, despite our physical and cultural differences. And then ninety years ago we welcomed Princess Annabelle into the world, a living physical representation of the blending of our nations. She became a symbol for what can happen when we work towards peace instead of destruction. Today she has returned to her homeland, after a journey that took her to worlds far different from ours to learn about other cultures. I ask you to welcome back our beloved daughter; Princess Annabelle."

As Annie stepped forward the thousands in the crowd cheered loudly for her and beat their wings until currents of air flowed all around them. There was much celebrating, with everyone dancing and singing folk songs. They were so overjoyed that the festivities lasted for three whole days and nights.

But while Annie was glad for all their happiness, the truth was that she missed her life in Greendale. She missed going to class and learning. She missed diligently taking notes. She missed school dances and all the various crazy adventures she got into. She missed her apartment and desperately blocking out all manners of noise to try and study. She missed cleaning and making everything organized and finding a place for everything. She missed purple pens and stuffed animals and romantic comedies and singing along to Disney movies. She missed the Dean's creepy costumes and Chang driving everyone insane with his antics. She missed Starburns and his sideburns, Garret and his exasperation, Duncan and his drunkenness.

But most of all she missed the study group. Her heart ached as she thought about them, and realized she would never see them again. She missed Shirley's sweetness and her struggle to be a good mother and prove that that wasn't all that she was. She missed Britta desperately trying to get them to feel bad at ignoring social causes. She missed Pierce shocking everyone with either being behind the times, being horrible offensive, or occasionally even insightful. She missed living with Troy and Abed and how they were like the brothers she never had. She missed Troy's childlike wonder and his appreciation of the simple things in life. And she missed Abed's pop culture obsessions and making the world more whimsical with his take on reality.

But she missed Jeff Winger beyond anything or anyone else. She missed his sarcasm and how he did everything possible to avoid work. She missed rolling her eyes at seeing him put more effort into avoiding work then just actually doing it. She missed his 'Winger speeches' and his amazing gift for gab. She missed how annoyed he would get when someone did something to hurt her. She missed how he was trying to become a better person, even if most times it seemed like one step forward three steps back. She missed his perfectly styled hair and his face and devilish smile. She missed how tall he was and how she felt herself flush when she saw him shirtless or in a particularly tight shirt and pair of jeans. She missed his hugs and the feel of his lips against hers and those special smiles she knew he only gave her.

She knew Jeff was far from perfect. He was narcissistic and conceited. He continually denied that there was anything real inside of him and that he actually did care about things besides himself. He had the maturity level of a teenager in spite of being in his thirties. He drove her crazy with his laziness and his selfishness. And how he fought tooth and nail not to admit that he had real romantic feelings for her. But she loved him, in spite of all of his many imperfections. She wished she could see him again, just one more time.

Her face fell as she realized that it was impossible for her to ever see him again. And even if it could somehow happen, it wouldn't matter. He had forgotten that she ever existed. Everything that they had had was now gone forever, alive only in her memory.

"Annabelle!" She looked over as Glawar flew over to her. She and Annie had grown up together and was probably her closest friend here. Like herself her parents were each from a different kingdom. But while Annie looked like she was from pure Kapitos ancestry despite her parentage, Glawar truly looked like a mixture of both her parents' heritage. While her skin was green it was far lighter than that of a full blooded Geragious.

Annie put on an earnest smile as Glawar landed next to her. "Annabelle, how are you? I haven't seen you since the festivities ended."

"I'm good. Glad to be back home."

Glawar smiled slightly as she waved her hands in front of the bees. "Can you give us a moment? For some girl time." The bees flew into the air, hissing angrily at Glawar before taking off. She waited until they were gone before addressing Annie. "Annabelle, what's up?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Annabelle, it's me. I know when you're lying, remember. You're been unhappy ever since you've gotten back."

"It's nothing, I'm fine." She looked away as Glawar kept looking at her intently. Finally she sighed and turned to face her. "Ok, fine. I miss Greendale."

Glawar frowned at what she heard. "Is Greendale code for the forest?"

"It's where I was in the human world."

"OH!" She shook her head as she took that in. "You're been upset about not being in the human world? Are you sure you're all right? I would never want to leave here, especially to go there. I mean, when I found out you had to go to their world I was shocked. Everything I've ever heard about humans and their world seems terrible."

"Yea, humans do a lot of terrible things. But there are a ton of amazing stuff there."

"Like what?"

Annie thought for a moment as she tried to think of what to tell her. "Well, they have movies and television."

"What's that?"

"You know how when you read a book and you picture what's happening in your head? Well with movies and television those images are on a screen for everyone to see and enjoy. And they have machines that can transport you all over the world. Over land and air and water. And they have food that you've never imagined before. They have this desert called chocolate. It's so sweet and good. And I miss the people. I made such amazing friends there. There's one girl I'm friends with, Britta. She looks just like the Duin's daughter, Christinia. And there were two guys I lived with, Troy and Abed, who always went on these amazing adventures."

Glawar nodded her head as she heard all of this. "It sounds really interesting."

"It is. It's an amazing place." She sighed sadly as she looked out into the distance.

Glawar wrapped an arm around her neck as she pulled her close. "Annabelle. Listen. I know you've always had a fascination with the human world, long before you were sent over there. But this is your home. This is where you belong."

"Yea, sure." Annie said softly.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"_Well guess what handsome hobo. You're grave train is leaving the station. Chucka chucka chucha chucka _ _chucka chucha chucka _ _chucka chucha chucka whahoo whahoo!" _

Jeff brought his hands to his head as he realized it had happened again. He had had another vision of the imaginary woman. This made five in total since they first started a week ago. He had no idea what was causing them. This time he had just been sitting at home watching Die Hard when it happened.

He had already gone to see his doctor to get checked out. But besides finding out that his cholesterol was lower since his last visit everything was the same. He was as healthy as he always was. They hadn't been able to find anything wrong with him.

Jeff tried to decipher what this vision was. The young woman had called him a handsome hobo, and then did an adorable impression of a train while the rest of the study group looked on in bemusement. Well at least this one wasn't as unsettling as the one he had before then. In that vision she had called herself a spinster librarian and then took a clip out of her hair, shaking her head as it fell loose around her shoulders before giving him a radiant smile. That vision unsettled him because once it was over he felt honest to god butterflies in his stomach. That simple action caused him to feel affection and desire for her, the woman who didn't exist.

After seeing her five times he now had a fairly good idea of what she looked like. She was short and petite, with smooth creamy white skin and silky looking brown hair. She had a great pair of legs in spite of her height, and an even better pair of tits. But amazingly it was her face he kept focusing back on. She had small yet pouty lips, a cute little nose, and a smile that could light up a room. And her eyes, he couldn't properly describe how amazing her eyes were. They were like animi eyes. No, more like eyes on a Disney character. Too big to seem real, and yet perfect for her face.

Jeff had tried to find out who she was. He looked her up in the student directory but no woman matched her description. He tried to think of any movie or TV show she might have been on, but he drew a blank. He had no idea who she was, or if she even really existed. And yet somehow he kept envisioning having some kind of a life with her. They weren't a couple, at least based on what he was seeing. And yet the more he saw her the more he kept feeling something he really hadn't felt before. A warm tingling feeling that started in his stomach and moved to his chest.

What's happening to me, he thought?


	4. Chapter 4

"I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm losing my mind."

Jeff sighed as he sank further into the overstuffed chair in his latest therapist's office. In spite of how freaked out he was by all the visions he kept having, originally he wasn't going to mention them to her. But the one he had last night made him realize he couldn't keep ignoring them.

"Go on Jeff."

"I have no idea what's causing them. They seem to happen at random times. I just know they seem more real the more I see them."

She scribbled something down in her note pad before looking back at him. "Tell me about the latest one you had. The one you said you dreamed last night."

Jeff thought as he tried to recall as many details from his dream as he could. "It was during a debate I did three years ago. At least it seemed like that one, most of the details were the same. I was debating whether man was good or evil against City College and the opposing debater was Jeremy Simmons, this paraplegic douche bag. I was standing on a podium in the Greendale gymnasium when Jeremy launched himself out of his wheelchair into my arms, stating that man had to be good if I caught him even though I hated him."

Dr. Wexler waited as Jeff paused for a moment. "And then?"

"And then the mystery woman grabbed my face and kissed me in front of everyone. I dropped Jeremy and she pulled away, saying that man had to be evil if I dropped someone simply because I was horny."

"Do you remember how you felt when she kissed you?"

"It felt…it felt good."

She nodded as she made another note in her pad. "You said the dream was based off of something that actually happened to you. Can you tell me how that went?"

"It was the same circumstance as the dream, except in real life Joey was my debate partner. After I caught Simmons Joey kicked my legs out and caused both of us to fall, then yelling 'I kicked them both to the ground just for my own amusement. Man is evil."

"So counting last night's dream, you've have six visions so far with this young woman. And you have no idea who she might be? Where you might have seen her from? No identifying information like what her name might be?"

"Annie." Jeff froze in place as soon as he said that name.

Dr. Wexler looked up at him in surprise. "You know her name? I thought you said you didn't know her name in your visions?"

"Yea, it's never been said. But, I don't know. As soon as you mentioned her name that one just popped in my head."

"Well, does that name hold any significance to you? Did you once know someone you cared about who shared that name?"

Jeff thought about it before he shook his head. "No. I can't remember ever knowing someone in my life named Annie."

She frowned as she thought about what he said. "Well Jeff, it's possible your visions are a representation of something you're searching for. You said you feel a connection to this imaginary woman. It might be your desire to open up and connect more with others. And you so desperately want that that you're subconscious is rewriting your life so you have this connection you crave. I would suggest you start keeping a log of when you have a vision and what the vision is, and what you are feeling before it happens and after you experience it. And it's important to remember that they are just representations of your mind. What you are experiencing isn't real."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Annie jumped up a little before taking flight, beating her wings furiously as she gained altitude. She still needed a kick off before she flew. Though she had been flying for several decades, it took only five years of her not doing it for her to forget what should be natural instincts.

She flew through the air until she got to her home high above the ground. Though it was bigger than many dwellings, it was in no way like the elaborate castles one would expect royally to live in. She landed on the landing deck and walked inside, where her mother was talking to two of the city planners.

"Annabelle darling, I'll be with you in one moment." Ilma smiled before turning back to the planners. "Yes, I will bring up the proposed plans to expand mining in the southwest with King Aran. Although I can tell you right now I doubt he'll agree to much more than a ½ a mile expansion. Anymore and he feels it will start to disrupt the honey bees migration patterns."

"Thank you Queen Ilma." As they left Ilma exhaled as she started cleaning up from their meeting. "Sometimes I don't know what's harder, being in the spotlight in charge like your father, or the one by his side like me. True I don't get as much credit as I should for my contributions, but when something goes wrong or people have to be told something they don't want to hear, your father is the one in hot water, not me." She finished sorting through the leftover paperwork before she sat down on the wood and cotton couch and beckoned her daughter over "How was your lesson today?"

Trying to hide her true feelings Annie put on a smile as she sat down next to her mother. "It was good. Mrs. Stregus is filling me in on what's happened here since I've been gone. And she's having me make graphs on the ruling differences between our world and the human one."

Ilma nodded her head as she gently placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Annabelle, what's wrong?"

She looked up at her mother with a deer in the headlights look. "What? Nothing's wrong."

"Annabelle, I'm your mother. I know when something's upsetting you."

Annie sighed deeply as she looked into her mother's eyes. "I miss the human world." She blinked back tears as she willed herself to continue. "I'm glad to see you and father again. But I miss it there. I miss the people I met and all the things that happened to me there. I miss the school I went to and the place I used to live in. I miss the sights and the sounds of humans. I miss all the tools and gadgets they have, like stuffed animals and books by Jana Austin. I miss ballet shoes and paintball and even the dreamatorium. I miss all the wonderful people I made friends with and became like my other family."

Her mother waited patiently as she listened to her daughter, not even asking questions when she heard something she didn't understand. As Annie wiped a few tears from her eyes she grinned back at her. "What's his name?"

"What?" Annie said with a slight squeak.

"Annabelle, I don't doubt that you miss all of the things you just described to me. But I can tell when a man has worked their way into a woman's heart. What's the name of the man that has taken hold of yours?"

"Jeff." Annie said, truly smiling for the first time in days.

"J.e.f.f" Her mother slowly repeated, carefully sounding out each syllable. "A strange name, but one that's not uncommon in their world I assume. I mean, I doubt Ilma is bestowed upon many women born in the human realm. So, tell me about this Jeff." She said with a smile.

"He's, he's truly something. He acts like he doesn't care about anything, but slowly he's starting to realize he cares more about things then he knows. He's really cleaver, but puts more time into avoiding work then doing it. He's the kind of guy who would build a complex machine to take away garbage rather then walk three feet to put it in a trashcan. He's really vain and spends way too much time on his appearance, but it's worth all the effort in the end. He has the ability to take complete command of a room with just a look. He's always giving what we call 'Winger' speeches, which can lift you up and get his point across better than anything. He's funny, but not in a jokey way. More like a biting wit kind of way. And while he'd probably say otherwise, he's real protective of those he really cares about."

"Is he good looking?"

Annie's smile widened at the question. "Yea. He's really tall and works out all the time and has a great body. He has these really amazing large hands, and great hair and eyes. And when he looks at you, I mean REALLY looks at you, the whole world seems to disappear and all that matters is the two of you.

"I know he's not perfect mom. He's vain and conceited and lazy. He had a ton of personal issues that's he's still trying to sort out. He often hurts people without even meaning to by being inconsiderate. And he keeps thinking he's too old to be with me, because he thinks he's over ten years older than me and doesn't know I'm actually close to 100. But in spite of all that, and even though we've never actually been together, I love him. We've kissed and fought. He's made me laugh and cry and yell. He's forced me to keep on my toes, and I more than do the same to him. He's made me a better woman, and I think I might have even made him a better man. He's…" She trembled as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. "He's the one. And I can't ever see him again."

Ilma pulled her daughter closer, holding her tight as she cried into her. "I am truly sorry for what has happened. If, if we had known what would have happened when we sent you over there…"

"Then send me back." Annie looked up at her mother with hopeful eyes. "Send me back to the human world."

"Annabelle, you know I can't. Only the ruler of a fairy kingdom had the power to open dimensional doorways."

"But you're-."

"I am the wife of the ruler of a kingdom. I hold a great deal of power, both political and mystical. But I am unable to do what you want. And even if I could I wouldn't go against your father's wishes like that. He wants you here, preparing for the day you will take rule. You'll be the first woman ruler of this nation in three millenniums. He is so proud of what you will accomplish. It's what he wants, for you to be the best you can be."

"What about what I want!" Annie yelled as she pushed herself off of her mother. "I don't belong here. Not anymore. I love you two dearly. But I belong there, in that world." She laughed bitterly. "Maybe I should just cut my wings."

Though she meant it as a dark joke, she instantly regretted saying it once she saw the look on her mother's face. With the exception of old age, the only way a fairy could die was if their wings were cut from their body. Generally it was something that only happened in battle, if someone committed suicide, or during the very rare execution.

"Annabelle!" Her mother said in a dangerous tone. "Don't EVER say that again. Don't even joke about something so horrible."

"I'm sorry. I would never do that mother. I would never kill myself. I don't want to die. I just, I'm just so upset that I can't be where I belong. Though in the long run it doesn't matter. No one there even remembers me. He sought to that. It's like I was never there. Like I never even existed."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"No, the eyes still aren't right."

Vicki glared at Jeff as her pencil paused on the paper, before she again carefully erased the eyes from the drawing. "You've had me draw the damn eyes eight times already. What do you want?"

"They need to be big. Like a Disney princess. But realistically. Not cartoonish. And they have to captivate you the second you look into them."

As Vicki again went to work Jeff looked over her shoulder, observing her progress. He had tried to ignore his visions of the imaginary woman named Annie. But he couldn't get her out of his mind. Since he couldn't find any evidence of who she was he asked Vicki, who was good at drawing, if she would draw a picture of someone based purely on his description. They had spent the last two hours on the drawing, with him obsessing over each facial detail and having her redo it until it was perfect.

"There, is this what you wanted?" She held up the drawing as Jeff took hold of it. He didn't say a word for a few moments. He just stared back at the woman that had haunted him for over a week now.

"Yea, it's perfect."

Neil got up off Vicki's bed, putting his book down as he went over to look at it. "Wow, that's really good. If you gave her pointy ears she'd look just like an elf."

"Don't touch it!"

Neil slowly held up his hands. "I'm not touching it. So who is she anyway?"

"That's what I'm going to find out."


	5. Chapter 5

"I don't want to hear it!" King Aran yelled in frustration.

Queen Ilma walked over to her husband, taking his hands in hers. "I know this is hard to hear. It's hard for me to accept also."

"She just needs more time!" Aran said, though he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself then truly believing his own words. "She's only been back a little over a week. That's no time at all to adjust."

"Aran, she's completely miserable. I've talked to Babana Stregus and she says that Annabelle hasn't been paying attention in her studies. And when I asked Glawar she said Annabelle almost never smiles or seems happy. And that doesn't even count the number of times she's cried in my arms."

"She can't be that affected by being gone. She was only there for five years. I've had ceremonial robes longer than that."

"I think we have to discuss what is best for our daughter."

Aran huffed as he pulled his hands away. "What's best for her is for her to remain here. She belongs here, with her family and her own kind."

"According to her we're not the only family she has."

Aran shook his head, scoffing at his wife's declaration. "She's diluting herself if she thinks those creatures will ever truly accept her. Has she told them what she really is? To them they think she's a human. But if they ever found out she is a fairy they would be horrified. They'd turn on her and either exploit her or hunt her down."

"Maybe not. Not all humans are bad. In spite of what you think."

Aran angrily glared at his wife, who stood her ground under his gaze. "I am not exaggerating! Those creatures have caused war, starvation, genocide, vast showcasing of greed and destruction!"

"Are we really that different? I'm not saying humans are perfect. I know they're capacity for violence and greed is great. But I also believe there is real good in them. I doubt you would have sent our daughter there in the first place if you didn't believe that yourself in some way. The people our daughter associated with care about her. She told me that all of them are broken in one way or another. But they came together, seeing and bringing out the best in each of them. They've accepted each other despite all their reasons not to. I believe that if Annabelle went back and told them who she really was, they would accept her."

Aran paced back and forth, trying to buy time as he pondered his next argument. "What about the kingdom? Annabelle is in line to rule. What do you expect to happen if she is gone from here?"

"We both know she's not the only heir to the throne." Ilma said as her hands instinctively went over her still flat stomach. "Annabelle doesn't even know that I'm pregnant yet. That she's going to be an older sister."

King Aran's eyes briefly darted to his wife's stomach in affection before looking back at her. "We agreed to wait to tell her. To give her time to adjust before breaking the news to her."

"I know. But this means she now doesn't necessarily have to rule if she doesn't want to. She's free to now live in their world if she chooses to."

Before Aran could speak Ilma yelled out "She's in love!" Aran sighed deeply as she continued. "She genuinely loves the people she has met in this group of hers. But there's one she has fallen in love with. A man named Jeff."

"Jeff." He spat back in disgust. "A terrible name for what I assume is a terrible person." He looked into his wife's eyes, becoming pensive instead of merely angry. "Let us just assume for a moment that it does work out. She returns to the human world and reveals herself, the ones she regards as family accept her for what she is, and the man she loves returns her love. It does not change the fact that she will outlive all of them. Whether from disease or an accident or old age, they will all die hundreds of years before her. And she will be devastated, watching everyone she loves die long before her. As painful as it is to keep her away from them, it is necessary to prevent her from experiencing a pain even more potent to her heart."

Ilma pondered what she heard before she softly said "There's something you can do about that. She doesn't have to live in their world as a fairy."

Aran's eyes widened, shocked to his very core by what he had just heard. "You're…you're actually suggesting I turn our daughter into a…" His voice caught as he stumbled backwards. "Are you insane! Turn her into one of those lowly creatures?"

"Aran!" Ilma's voice took on a stern edge as she spoke to her husband. "I know you would rather not believe it. But we both know our daughter has had a deep connection to the human world, long before you sent her there. She's always liked to study their cultures and ways long into the night. And you can pretend those secret poems she wrote that we found were nothing, but I know what they meant. They were about her breaking free from here to live with them. She wants to live there, as one of them. But she's too afraid to tell you herself."

"So she asked you to-."

"She didn't ask me to do anything. I'm doing this because I can see how being here is suffocating her. Is that what you want? To keep her from being happy? Because if she stays here that's what will happen!"

With that Ilma stormed across the room and jumped out the window, leaving Aran alone to ponder over what had just happened.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Joey took a long drink of beer as he turned back towards the television. "See, this is what life's all about. Hanging out with the guys, drinking beers, watching Bruce Willis kick some Eurotrash ass. Good times."

After Shirley had told them yesterday that she was going on a overnight field trip with her boys today, Joey suggested that the guys get together to watch all four Die Hard films, one after another. At first Britta complained, since she felt it was sexist to exclude group members simply because of gender. But she eventually declared she decided she wasn't going to attend so she didn't have to spend time with Joey. So after classes ended the five men gathered at Pierce's mansion to begin their movie marathon.

"I don't know why I'm here. I just watched this the other day." Jeff quickly said as he tried to control his legs and hands from shaking.

"Um Jeff, are you sure you're all right? You've been acting weird all day." Troy said.

"I'm fine, all right." He wiped his face as Abed looked over at him. "What?"

"You seem pretty out of it Jeff."

"At least I'm conscious." Jeff said as he pointed to Pierce, who had fallen asleep ten minutes into the first movie. He tried paying attention to the TV screen, ignoring how warm his body felt.

He knew his condition was somehow connected to the visions, and how they were increasing. He had had three of them yesterday, and when he woke up today he felt hot, like he had a fever. But when he took his temperature it was normal. So far he had had three visions today, and each time they ended he felt more itchy and shivery.

Just then he felt even more anxious, as if something big was about to occur. "Excuse me." Jeff said as he got up.

"Do you want us to pause it?"

"I'm fine." Jeff yelled as he practically ran to the bathroom, feeling the pressure build in his head. Once inside he locked the door, not bothering to turn on a light. He just had time to fall onto his back before he felt himself leave the bathroom behind.

"…_and I realized that, in the moment, Greendale is where I belong." Annie paused for a moment as she looked at Jeff. "What are you doing out here?" _

"_Oh, you know. Britta and Slater told me they love me." _

"_Really? What did you do?" _

"_I ran away. I don't know, it's hard. Slater makes me feel like I do when I write my New Year's resolutions. She makes me feel like the guy I want to be. And Britta makes me feel like the guy I am three weeks after New Year's, when I'm back to hitting my snooze button and screening my mom's phone calls. Back to who I really am. So, do you try to evolve, or do you try to know what you are?"_

"_I don't know. I wish I could live two lives. One of me would go with Vaughn, and one of me could stay here." _

"_Yea, one of me could be back with Slater, and the other could try it with Britta. And then we could all get together for some weird foursome." _

_Annie laughed as Jeff looked back at the front doors. "Um, I guess I got ta, go deal with it." _

"_Good luck." _

"_Um, I'm glad you're staying." _

_As she nodded her head he leaned in and wrapped his arms around her. She did the same as they hugged. As they pulled back he looked at her, happy and content that his friend wasn't leaving him. She continued to look at him as she leaned in, inching up on her toes as her lips met his. She only kissed him for a moment before she pulled back, looking as exposed and vulnerable as if she was naked. He looked into her big blue eyes, seeing her in a way he hadn't previously thought possible, when he moved in and kissed her back. They're lips explored each other's as passion erupted within them, both knowing that a floodgate had just been opened that could never be closed. _

Jeff gasped as he came to. Immediately he tried taking deep breaths, but as soon as he did he began to feel very light headed. He moved his hand under his butt, feeling that his jeans were damp from the dew on the grass.

Grass? 

Jeff sat up and looked around, seeing that he wasn't in Pierce's bathroom. Instead he was lying on a forest ground, surrounded by trees that seemed to have a weird light glowing within them.

"What the Fu-."


	6. Chapter 6

Jeff struggled to stand up, but he was having trouble breathing. He felt dizzy and nauseous, and there was a strange ringing in his ears. In addition he was having trouble seeing what was in front of him and all his muscles felt sore and inflamed. He tried calling for help but he was unable to speak. Through his haze he was able to make out several blurred figures rushing towards him, yelling incoherent phrases. One blur sprang forward and knelt beside him. He briefly felt something prick his neck, then immediately began to feel better. He breathed deeply as the ringing disappeared and his other symptoms went away. As his vision cleared he was able to see many men and women gathered around him. Some of them were Caucasian, but others appeared to have green skin. As if that wasn't enough of a shock he realized that all of them had giant crystal like wings protruding out of their back.

"What, what the…"

The man who had been beside him stood up rapidly. "It's, it's a human."

The others yelled cried of shock. Some of the men bend their legs, as if readying themselves if he attacked them. Jeff looked around in amazement as they all started talking at once.

"Where did he come from?"

"Is there only one or are more hidden?"

"I thought humans were just make believe."

"Is he here to start war?"

"How did he get here?"

"Are they're more?"

"He's cute."

"He's dangerous!"

"He's here to hunt us!"

"We must bring him to the king and queen!"

Jeff looked franticly at the one standing next to him. Before he could react white light shot out of the creature's hands and wrapped around Jeff's hands, binding his wrists together.

"Ow! What the hell!"

"Quiet human! Luckily for you we don't immediately slaughter creatures that are different then us. Unlike your race we fairies think before we act. Your fate isn't in our hands. It will be our queen and king who'll decide your fate."

With that the man grabbed Jeff by the light band and pulled him through the forest, with the rest of the fairies following.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Annabelle! Annabelle!"

Annie paused from identifying leaves used for food and leaves used for medicine as Glawar ran towards her. "What is it?"

"You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"A human! They found a human near the capital!"

She stood up, shocked at what she was hearing. "Really? I didn't think humans even lived in this realm."

"Well, one is here now. A group found him and are bringing him to the village square so your parents can pass judgment. I caught a glimpse of him as he was being led. He's a handsome one. He's really tall and muscular. Though he did have a big forehead."

Annie froze in shock, her mind racing over what she just heard. It, it can't be, she thought. It's impossible. Disbelievingly she asked Glawar "Did, did you notice if he also had a pointy nose and hair like he just woke up."

"Um, yea. How did you know that?" Before she got an answer Annie dropped her tools and started running to the square, ignoring Glawar's cries and questions as she ran as fast as she could.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff stood in the town square, with images of Planet of the Apes running through his head. True the creatures that surrounded him weren't nearly as hostel. But the feeling of dread was still upon him. He was surrounded by fairies, some with white skin, others with green skin. He had always imagined fairies to be tiny, no bigger than sparrows. These ones were human size, and aside from the wings and green skin looked very human like.

I'm dreaming, Jeff thought. I passed out in Pierce's bathroom and I'm having a really weird dream. Any minute I'm going to wake up and go back to watching Die Hard. Any second now.

Just then the crowd grew silent and parted as a regal dressed couple stepped forward. The Caucasian man was big, with long brown hair and a very stern expression on his face. While the green skinned woman was petite, and look uncannily familiar.

The man walked forward, stopping just in front of Jeff. "Who are you, and how did you find our kingdom?"

"Wait! Daddy wait! Don't hurt him!"

The crowd parted as a young woman pushed her way through to the front of the crowd. Jeff looked over and gasped when he saw that it was the mystery woman from his visions, but with wings like the other fairies. As soon as he saw her he cried out as his mind was flooded with visions. As they ran through his mind they continually increased in speed until they were almost a blur.

_Jeff calling Annie awesome while she looked on with quiet pride. _

_Jeff kissing Annie's hand and calling her Milady._

_Annie jumping out of the bushes at Jeff. _

_Annie storming off and making Jeff feel terrible. _

_Annie jumping to Jeff's side when the Human Being approached them. _

_Jeff and Annie walking arm and arm to the pep rally. _

_Jeff smiling as Annie jumped up and down while holding a giant sign for Troy. _

_Annie in the hallway crying to him about crossing guards and wanting to be cool._

_Jeff in a cowboy costume dancing with Annie in a skeleton jumpsuit. _

_Jeff furious at Simmons for cruelly mocking Annie. _

_Jeff stunned when Annie let her hair down and then leaned into him with her cleavage exposed. _

_Jeff patting Annie on top of her head. _

_Annie doing an impression of a train. _

_Annie helping Jeff with a Spanish paper._

_Annie giddy as Jeff read a fortune cookie about AIDS._

_Jeff in the editor's office sending her on assignment. _

_Annie grabbing Jeff's arm and pulling him aside. _

_Annie pouting while Jeff yelled at her in an Island shirt._

_Annie being sarcastic while dressed as a foxy hippie. _

_Jeff and Annie giving each other a long affectionate look of desire. _

_Annie happily watching Jeff as he played pool naked. _

_Annie tricking Jeff into helping Pierce. _

_Annie disgusted with Jeff and then making him feel bad. _

_Jeff watching Annie running her hands up and down a phallic shaped piece of pottery._

_Annie chasing Jeff through the quad. _

_Annie slamming Jeff's head against the study table. _

_Annie dancing and doing the robot while wearing a backpack. _

_Annie leaping out of a trash barrel holding two paintball guns. _

_Annie trying to get them all to take Anthropology. _

_Jeff yelling at Annie until she cried. _

_Jeff kicking down a door to save Annie. _

_Annie excitedly walking with Jeff in the quad. _

_Annie telling Jeff she was transferring. _

_Jeff dialing Annie's number and then hanging up before she answered. _

_Annie twirling her hair while gushing about their kiss. _

_Annie running up and punching Jeff in the face. _

_Annie telling Jeff that Alan ratted him out. _

_Jeff throwing a towel to Annie when she was covered in oil. _

_Annie looking pained as they all designed an anus flag. _

_Annie dragged away by zombies while dressed as little red riding hood. _

_Jeff pulling Annie behind him when Mexican drug runners pulled guns out._

_Jeff furiously yelling in Annie's face and her standing her ground. _

_Annie and Jeff furiously stripping their clothes off. _

_Jeff and Annie smiling at each other while Troy told a story about a ghost. _

_Jeff diving on Annie to save her from a car explosion. _

_Jeff following Annie through the blanket fort. _

_Annie confessing her love to Jeff and then shooting him. _

_Annie and Jeff sharing a deep look as the blanket fort came down around them. _

_Jeff pulling Annie down the hallway as a guy in a robot costume went berserk. _

_Annie in a bar clearing their table in a southern accent. _

_Jeff covertly checking out Annie's legs when she wasn't wear stockings._

_Annie and Jeff singing how they loved each other. _

_Jeff denying he's jealous that Annie had a crush. _

_Jeff furious when he finds out that her crush is Rich. _

_Annie asking him point blank in the bathroom if he liked her or not. _

_Annie fitting Jeff for a 'cool cat' costume. _

_Jeff grabbing Annie before she stepped in horseshit. _

_Jeff and Annie devising a plan to save Neil. _

_Jeff shocked at her vivid Dungeon & Dragon's sex imagery. _

_Annie arguing with Jeff about friendship and about the Bare Naked Ladies._

_Jeff sending Annie and the group a text saying that he loved them. _

_Jeff sitting next to Annie in the hospital. _

_Jeff seeing Annie choking and giving her the Heimlich maneuver. _

_Annie pointedly reminding Jeff that he wasn't a lawyer anymore. _

_Jeff being run off stage when Annie played his Real World audition tape. _

_Annie furiously cleaning black mold while Jeff helped with minimal effort. _

_Jeff and Annie arguing during Caesar salad day. _

_Jeff sitting next to Annie while they wore Pulp Fiction costumes. _

_Annie disgusted when Jeff told her he once had a three way in a hot air balloon. _

_Jeff telling Annie her nickname wasn't Irony Free Annie. _

_Jeff denying the 'Annie of it all'. _

_Jeff first seeing Annie in her sexy paintball shorts and low cut top. _

_Annie not responding to being called Milady and arguing with Jeff about Pierce. _

_Jeff telling Annie he wants to keep her good. _

_Jeff pointed a gun at The Black Rider as he held Annie hostage. _

_Jeff watching Annie dive as they swam at a community pool over the summer. _

_Annie and Jeff singing about sleeping together in a imaginary musical montage. _

_Annie manipulating Jeff out of the study group with the same reason he gave for eliminating Pierce._

_Annie threatening not to be his friend anymore if he kept acting crazy. _

_Jeff helping Annie plan for model UN. _

_Jeff calling Annie a school girl as she had a mega ultra tantrum. _

_Jeff and Annie almost kissing in the study room. _

_Jeff calling Annie a good grade in a tight sweater. _

_Jeff throwing a blanket over him and Annie while they watched a movie with the gang at her place. _

_Annie trying to seduce Jeff while wearing a sexy Santa outfit. _

_Annie telling Jeff to look in his heart. _

_Annie criticizing Jeff's speech for Shirley. _

_Jeff trying to get into Annie's sleep study session. _

_Annie talking Jeff into apologizing to a dead girl's locker._

_Jeff and Annie texting during the pillow/blanket fort civil war. _

_Jeff agreeing to help Annie get credit at the sleep center for taking more than one stuffed animal. _

_Annie in a blue cardigan._

_Annie in a yellow cardigan._

_Annie in a red cardigan. _

_Annie in a purple cardigan._

_Annie in a pink cardigan._

_Annie hugging Jeff before leaving with Vaughn. _

_Annie hugging Jeff at the beginning of their second Greendale year._

_Jeff and Annie admitting they cared what the other thought about them and then hugging._

_Annie hugging Jeff in the study room._

_Annie grabbing Jeff and kissing him at the debate. _

_Annie and Jeff hugging and then kissing during the Tranny dance. _

Jeff almost choked as he fell to his knees, gasping as it all came back to him. Who she was, where he knew her from, how he felt about her. He pulled himself up, blocking everything out as he looked in shock at her. "Annie! It's, it's, you're one of them!"

Before she could respond the fairy king grabbed Jeff, looking much more angry then he did a few moments ago. "How do you know her! HOW DO YOU KNOW MY DAUGHTER!"

"FATHER PLEASE DON'T HURT HIM!"

Still holding Jeff King Aran angrily turned towards his daughter. "You! You brought him here, didn't you!"

"STOP!" Ilma yelled out. "Release him!"

"I AM THE KING! I HOLD THE RIGHT TO-."

"NOW! WE DO NOT HARM OTHERS WITHOUT CAUSE!"

King Aran reluctantly released Jeff as Queen Ilma stepped forward. "Our daughter does not have the knowledge or the ability to open a dimensional doorway. Clearly this human came here on his own."

"How! It is impossible for humans to find this place. And he knows her. I rewrote history so her existence was erased as soon as she left. How does he know her then?"

Not answering right away Queen Ilma gently placed her hands on Jeff's cheeks, looking deep within his eyes. "You are the one they call Jeff, right? The one who my daughter has fallen for and who has caused her such sorrow by being separated from her."

Jeff nervously nodded his head as Ilma looked intently at him, almost as if she was searching deep within his soul. After several moments she brought her hands down and stepped back. "This one clearly loves Annabelle. But he is conflicted and has buried his love deep within himself. It was buried so deep that your existence wipe was not enough to eradicate his memory of her. It grew and festered within him, combining with the residual magic from the memory alteration until the very thought of her transported him over to our world."

Aran looked at the two of them, shocked at what he was hearing. "I don't believe this." He said softly.

"I've always said love was powerful."

Aran regained his composer as he looked at his wife. "Well, even if that is what happened, he cannot stay here."

"NO! WAIT!" Annie cried out.

"QUIET!"

"Please, please let me go to her." Jeff said.

Aran turned back to his wife as he tried to speak rationally. "A human living here. Such a thing is unheard of. And even if I allowed it he would not survive our atmosphere. The trees of our realm give off too much oxygen for his body to safely absorb. Look, he needs a tree leach just to filter out the excess oxygen from his blood."

"I agree. He cannot stay here."

Aran smiled as his wife agreed with his decision. "Good. Let me wipe his memory and then-."

"No. Trying that just lead to him crossing over here. But keeping his memories of our daughter intact will enable him to remain in his own realm."

Aran gasped at his wife's statement. "We, we can't…if he remembers us…"

"What will happen? If we send him back with his memories no one will believe him if he tells them the truth. And even if someone does it won't matter. He can't cross over again. All it will accomplish will be him wasting his life trying to return. There is no harm in him remembering."

Aran looked into his wife's big blue eyes, realizing that she was speaking the truth. Nodding he stepped in front of Jeff. "I hope you remember this place well lad. Because it is the last time you will ever see it again."

"WAIT!" As Aran raised his glowing hands Annie ran forward and threw herself between the two men, inadvertently causing Jeff to step back several feet. "Wait, please!"

"Get out of the way Annabelle!"

"I'm not leaving him! I love him and I'm going with him!"

"Annie…" Jeff gasped in shock as she gave her father the sternest gaze he'd ever seen.

"Child, you cannot! This is your home! And if you go, you would have no life with him! A fairy and a human cannot live a life together!"

"I know! I don't want to live in the human world as a fairy! Please, make me one of them! Make me human so I can live my life!"

Aran gasped, noticing how everyone was looking on in wonder and apprehension. Trying to save face he yelled out "ABSOLUTLY NOT. I WILL NOT DELUDE YOU INTO ONE OF THOSE CREATURES!"

Without taking her eyes off of her father Annie reached into her dress and pulled out a long knife. Knowing he would stop her she held an arm out and froze Jeff's feet in place as she held the knife against her wings. "Turn me right now father, or else I will cut my wings off!"

Aran held his hands out, his mind racing with fear as he tried to stop her from killing herself. "Put the knife down!"

"Not unless you turn me!"

He gasped as he tried to reason. "I, I won't, please."

"Father." Annie said calmly. "One way or another I am about to leave you. How it happens is entirely up to you."

They continued looking into each other's eyes defiantly, waiting to see who cracked first. After several tense seconds Annie slashed at her wings, cleaving them clean off in one swipe.

"NO!" Both men screamed as Annie fell to the ground. Feeling his legs become free Jeff ran over, but was pushed aside by Aran as the fairy king fell to the ground. The crowd cried and yelled out as he took his daughter in his arms.

"NO! NO! ANNABELLE! ANNABELLE! ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT!" Knowing he had only seconds to act Aran laid her on the forest ground and held his hand over her chest. A green light shot out from his hand as her body shook as if she had been hit with a defibrillator. Seeing that she wasn't breathing he hit her again with the green light. "COME BACK TO US! COME BACK TO US!" As he hit her a third time he saw her take a very faint gasp and could feel her heart beat again, even though she was still unconscious. As he pulled his daughter up into his arms everyone looked at her back in amazement. The bleeding stumps that remained of her wings began to slowly move out of her body. They continued to inch out until the roots dropped right out of her body and landed on the floor. As soon as they were out the slits on her back knitted and healed until they were completely gone.

Jeff crawled over and stroked Annie's cheek as he looked at her unconscious face. "Annie. Annie!" He looked over at Aran. "Is she all right?"

"Not yet. But she will be."


	7. Chapter 7

King Aran stood on the outside balcony as he looked at the setting sun, appearing calm despite his mind racing. He had thought he has seen a lot in his time in the world. But yesterday proved there was still a lot he couldn't take into account.

He glanced through the window into the master bedroom, seeing his daughter laying unconscious in bed. She had been unconscious for almost a full night and day as her body restructured and reformed itself to make her human. He had never before thought of 24 hours as a long stretch of time. He was 200 years old, and fully expected to live for another several hundred years. For him a day was no time at all. But since his daughter had almost died from cutting her wings every second until she regained consciousness seemed like an eternity.

The human who called himself Jeff was sitting next to her, holding her hand as he watched over her. Every time Aran checked in on his daughter the human was right there by her side. Even when he had fallen asleep for a few hours he had remained firmly in his seat. Aran still didn't know what to think of him, but he had to admit this continuous vigil was softening his opinion slightly.

Aran looked over as Ilma walked over to him. "I just checked on Annabelle. Her color is returning and her pulse is strong. It shouldn't be long now until she wakes up."

"Good."

She sat down on the balcony bench, pulling Aran beside her as she gave him what he often referred to as her 'wife look'. "How are you?"

"I just don't understand." He said warily, sounded more bewildered than angry. "I just don't get it. She's given up so much. Her family, her home, her kingdom, everyone she's grown up with. The abilities and longevity that we have. And for what? For him. For them? For at best the chance to potentially experience 50 years at best in their world. I just don't understand someone willingly wanting to live in their world as one of them."

Ilma looked at her husband as a smile took hold of her face. "That was a very good speech you gave at the town square, when Annabelle first returned here. I especially liked the part about how marrying me brought our two nations together. Although I noticed that you left out a key detail in the story."

"We really don't have to-."

"That originally you were supposed to marry my older sister Katia, since to join two kingdoms together the oldest heirs of both ruling households had to marry one another. And instead you met and fell in love with me, the lowly younger ineligible princess. And you went before the two kingdoms and argued for two straight days, telling them I was the one who you were meant to be with. And do you remember what you said when they threatened to strip you of your title unless you married Katia?"

Aran smiled as the memory of standing there before the council, nervous and yet determined, took hold of him. "I said, 'I would rather live the life of a peasant with the woman I love then rule a kingdom alongside someone I don't'."

"Exactly. You were willing to give up everything for what you held dear to your heart. So while you may not be able to understand someone giving up being a fairy to live the life of a human, I know you can understand following your heart for love. Even if their decision might seem crazy to most others."

He pulled his wife closer as he gently kissed her on her lips. "Well, I know for a fact that what I did seemed crazy to many at the time, and I've never regretted it for a moment. So maybe you're right. Maybe there's hope that she will be able to find the happiness she should have. She was certainly willing to risk everything for it. She chanced dying to get what she wanted."

"What she did wasn't as big of a risk as you might think."

Aran frowned as his wife stood up. "What do you…she would have died if I hadn't rushed in."

"Our daughter isn't suicidal Aran. She knew exactly what she was doing." With that Ilma walked back inside, sticking her head briefly out of the entrance. "Do you really think I wouldn't have tried to stop her if I didn't 100% know you would have done what you did?" With that she walked over to her daughter, leaving Aran by himself to contemplate.

Aran sat on the balcony in amazement, thinking over everything he had just heard. After several minutes of contemplation he got up and walked into the bedroom. He loudly cleared his throat as Jeff and Ilma looked at him. "Um, young man. Can I speak to you in private?"

"It's ok, I'll let you know if Annabelle wakes up." Ilma said.

Jeff silently got up and followed Aran out to the balcony. To say he was nervous was the understatement of all time. It was nerve wrecking being with a woman's father under normal circumstances (the one or two times he actually got to that stage). But being with a large intimidating fairy king was at a whole other level.

"Listen, Jeff." Aran said. While he still sounded uncomfortable saying his name, he no longer spoke it as if he was spitting out battery acid. "I have to imprint upon you the enormous sacrifice my daughter has made to be with you and your kind. She has given up more than you can possibly imagine. Obviously I'm beyond the ability to prevent her from going with you. But I have to make sure she's not going to be spending the short time she had in misery and sadness."

Jeff took a deep breath as he looked the man in the eye. He had known this talk was coming since Annie had been brought to her parent's bed to recover. He was nervous, and not entirely sure at what he was going to say. So for once he instead spoke directly from the heart, with no ulterior motive or preconceived speech. "Sir, I'm not sure what exactly you know about her time in our world, so I'll just tell you what I know. She has been through a lot of hardships and has been hurt more then she has had a right to." He quickly barreled on as he saw the look of dread pass through Aran's eyes. "But she has also shown more strength and courage then anyone I've ever known. She's fought tooth and nail for everything she's gotten. And through it all has remained pure of heart and has a sense of decency unparallel to most. She's made both myself and everyone she knows a better person, even when we think we can't be one. I can't promise you that nothing bad will ever happen to her there. But I can promise that she has the strength to survive anything, and will no doubt take the world by storm and make it a much better place."

As Jeff looked at Aran he could tell that his doubts were slightly vanishing from his words. Aran slightly smiled before he looked somber again. "I'm well aware that my daughter is strong. But I don't always see it, and occasionally need it to be pointed out to me." He sighed as he readied himself for his next argument. "I assume by now you're aware of my daughter's feelings for you."

"Yes sir, I'm well aware of her feelings. I've been aware of them for a shamefully long time."

"I'm not going to pretend that I have a great deal of understanding of your species. But I hope you have the sense to appreciate what you have in her, considering everything."

"I'm well aware. I apologize that it has taken me this long to fully realize it. But I know how special and amazing your daughter is. And I also sadly know how many times I've pushed her away from me. And that no matter how many times she's bounced back and given me another chance, even she has a breaking point. So while I can't promise that I can completely change overnight, I can say that I will do everything I can not to hurt her and see the horrible look on her face when I do."

Just then they heard Ilma yell "Come in here. She's awake." Both men ran inside and over to the bed, where Annie was slowly opening her eyes. She looked up at everyone before her gaze settled on her father. "I'm sorry. I know you must hate me now…"

"Oh, no darling no. I could never hate you." Aran said, hating the tears that were threatening to spill over her eyes. He took hold of her hand as he looked at her with true affection. "It doesn't matter if you are a fairy or a human. I will always love you no matter what."

She nodded her head, grateful to have heard that, before she looked over at Jeff. Seeing this Ilma placed a hand on her husband's shoulder. "I think we should give them some time." Before he could protest she steered her husband out of the room, closing the door behind them.

Jeff pulled up his chair and sat back down, nervously laughing as he looked at her. "So, where do we start?"

"I know you have a lot of questions Jeff."

"That's kind of a understatement."

"I'll try to answer as many as I can." She took a deep breath as she prepared herself. "I came to your world to learn more about people. I always had a fascination with them, and my father felt it would be best if I got to know you better through hands on learning. It was always meant to just be temporary. But then I met you, and everyone in the study group, and suddenly-."

"Annie." Jeff said. "It doesn't matter."

"But Jeff-."

"Annie, you can spend the next several hours explaining yourself. But I don't need a long explanation. All that really matters is that I've finally realized what exactly you mean to me. And that I'm finally ready to stop denying how I feel and am ready to be with you. That is, if you'll still have me." He paused as he flashed her a trademark grin. "A lowly human."

Annie gave a laugh that was a cross between a chuckle and a sob. As she sat up in bed she wrapped her arms around Jeff, pulling him down as her lips met his. Her heart swooned as he grabbed hold of her and kissed her back, his passion and affection for her felt with each movement of his lips and touch of his fingers.

After several moments she pulled away, grinning like a love struck girl. "My human prince."

"My fairy princess."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

She took one final check around her room, seeing if there was anything else she wanted to take with her. She had packed up all the books and knickknacks she planned to take with her, checked every nook and hiding place for hidden treasures. As far as she knew she had everything.

"You ready?"

Annie turned to Glawar, who was sitting on her bed. "Yea, I think so."

She smiled as she slid off the bed and walked towards her. "I wanted to give you something, so you won't forget me when you're living your great human life."

"Glawar, I could never forget you."

"Well, hopefully this will help make sure of it." She reached into her pocket and handed Annie a large blue stone. "It's the one we found when we were on that field trip. Remember, I snuck away and you ran after me and we stayed by the river skipping stones. And when we finally came back you lied and said you had spent all that time searching for me."

"I remember." Annie smiled as she looked at the stone, seeing that it still had A and G carved on its smooth surface. She wrapped her arms around Glawar as she pulled her into a deep hug. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you to. But at least you got a pretty good looking man out of it. You'll have to tell me if what they say about human males is true."

"Glawar!" Annie shrieked as her friend simply smirked. The two women hugged one more time before walking out of the room, seeing her parents and Jeff in the sitting room.

"So everything will go back to the way it was." Jeff said.

"That's correct. Once you two go back the world will reconfigure itself to how it was before Annabelle left. You two will be the only ones who will have known that anything ever changed.

"Ok, I've got everything." Annie said

They all got up as they went over to her, though Jeff hung back to give her time to say goodbye. Ilma hugged her daughter tightly, leaning her head on her shoulder. "Goodbye sweetheart." She wiped Annie's tears away as she pulled back. "I know that you're going to do great things there. I love you."

"I love you too mother." She hugged her one more time before turning towards her father. Before she could say anything the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a flat crystal. "This, this allows you to communicate with us, from your dimension to ours. Anytime you want to talk, day or night…" His voice choked up as he handed her the crystal.

"You'll definitely be hearing from us when you're baby brother or sister arrives." Ilma said.

Annie nodded her head at the remembrance that she soon would have a sibling. She hugged her father, who hugged her tightly back. "I'm going to miss you. But, you're all grown up now and are able to make your own decisions and choices. And it's time I realized that Annabe-, I mean, Annie."

Annie pulled back, fresh tears falling down her cheeks. "I love you father."

"I love you to. With all my heart."

Jeff went over and gently placed a hand on Annie's shoulder. As she looked up at him Ilma pulled Jeff into a hug. "Goodbye young man. Take care of my daughter."

"I will." As Jeff extracted himself Aran held out his hand, shaking Jeff's hand more kindly then Jeff was expecting." "Goodbye, Jeff." He said with distain.

"You really don't like my name do you." Jeff said with a grin.

"No, not at all." Aran said, returning the grin. Aran waved his hand as a large doorway of light appeared. The three fairies (Aran, Ilam and Glawar) stood together as Jeff and Annie grabbed her things. Aran had just enough time to remove the oxygen filtering leeches from their necks before they stepped through the doorway back to the human world.


	8. Chapter 8

"Annie, hello!" Britta snapped her fingers in front of Annie's face. "Earth to Annie. What's with you? You usually don't zone out like this."

"Nothing." Annie said with a huge smile. Ever since she had gotten back two days ago she felt like she had a permanent smile plastered across her face.

"Brit-ta, she's obviously in love. She's allowed to make allowances for a little while." Shirley sweetly said as she looked over at Annie and Jeff. Ever since they told the group they were together she had surprisingly been supportive of the two of them (though she did have a habit of clearing her throat disapprovingly if they showed too much affection in public.)

"Fine, whatever. Let's just learn about plants and such." Britta said as she flipped her book open. As they all started studying Jeff again covertly watched each of them, looking for any sighs that they didn't know Annie, or that they once had a different member in their study group. But everyone seemed the same as they always did. To them it was like nothing at all had ever been different.

They all studied for an hour before they packed up and left. Once again Annie gave everyone a big hug as they left (they had just accepted it as a new Annie quark.) As she walked out into the hallway Jeff put an arm around her and pulled her close as they fell in step with each other. "It's like nothing was ever different with them." Jeff whispered in her ear.

"I know. I keep expecting someone to suddenly say to me 'Who are you?' Or 'Where were you last week?'"

They were so into their conversation that they weren't looking and ended up walking right into someone. As the person brushed himself off Jeff did a slight double take as he realized the person was Joey.

"Hey! Watch it!" He looked at Jeff as he readjusted his glasses. "You were in my Statistics class a few years ago, right? The one with the hot teacher."

"Yes, I took Statistics my first year here."

"Ok, ok."

"So, that's the only way you know me? We never spent time together otherwise?"

Joey narrowed his eyes, looking at Jeff as if he was nuts. "I'd think I'd remember if we did." Without another word he gathered his things and went on his way.

Annie watched him walk away, and then looked at Jeff in bewilderment. "Who was that?"

"The person the universe tried to replace you with. Key word is tried"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The DVD menu had been on for the last hour, playing the same thirty seconds of music on a continuous loop. But Jeff hardly noticed the obnoxious noise, since all his attention was currently on the woman sprawled on top of him.

They had spent the last three hours in each other's arms on Jeff's couch. The best way one would describe them was simply being with each other. Sometimes they would make out; other times they explored each other's bodies as if to burn themselves into each other's memory. Other times they simple held each other. Nothing they did was hurried or rushed. Instead they took the time to savor and appreciate each other, and how lucky they were to finally have the opportunity to explore each other so thoroughly.

Jeff knew his old self would be horrified by his actions, and would tell him to 'just bang her and move on'. But for once he was happy to just be with someone he loved. Because that was one thing they were both sure of. They loved each other. Though they had yet to actually say the words to one another, somehow they both could tell it was how they felt about each other.

As Annie started nuzzling his neck Jeff pulled her up to eye level, wanting to ask her something that has been on his mind for the last several hours. "How did you stand it?"

"Stand what?"

"Your age." He quickly worked to get his point across as he saw her eyes start to get angry. "No, I didn't mean…what I meant was, you always put up with everyone giving you a hard time for being young, when actually you were close to one hundred."

"Well, it wasn't like I would simply tell anyone that was the case." She said with a grin. "Besides, fairies have a different conception of age then humans. For you ninety three is ancient. For us ninety three is, about young adult. So overall it all evened out."

"Maybe that's why you always seemed both wise and yet naïve." He smiled before shaking his head. "It must have driven you crazy though. Me pointing out that things couldn't happen between us because I was older then you, when in reality you had about sixty years on me."

"It was frustrating at times." She confessed. "But again, it wasn't like I could tell you the truth. You would have thought I was crazy. Unless I showed you my wings. Then you'd probably freak out, along with everyone else."

"I wouldn't have been surprised at all if Abed simply said 'saw it coming.'" He gripped her tightly as his face became serious. "I still can't believe everything you gave up for me."

"It wasn't just for you." Annie said, looking as serious as Jeff did. "There were many reasons I did what I did. You weren't the soul reason I became human Jeff. You were just the final push I needed to go through with it." She smiled as she leaned in for another kiss. "Though you might have been the best reason, even if you weren't the only one." She happily confessed.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_Five years later_

"Shirley, I told you, we're picking up the ice cream for Ben's birthday party, so you don't have to worry about it…standard flavors like chocolate and vanilla, so it will go well with your cake…Shirley, for the last time, I'm not going to take my wedding ring off when you're mixing the batter. That one time was bad enough. Though it was funny seeing Troy and Abed dress like surgeons to try to surgically remove it…well I thought it was funny. And your cake still tasted great, even with the holes in it."

She glanced at the clock, gasping when she saw what time it was. "Shirley, I have to go. I'm expecting another call. I'll see you tomorrow." She hung up the phone and went over to the office, where she opened the hidden wall safe and took out her crystal. She closed the safe and quickly walked to the nursery. She had just enough time to make it in there before she felt her locket glow. Feeling the crystal start to glow hot she placed it in mid air, where it grew until it was the size of a large TV screen. She smiled as her parent's smiling faces came on the screen. "Hey!"

"Hello sweetheart!" Her mother happily said. "How are things?"

"Really good. Work is going well. The manager of my department is retiring soon, so I might be up for a promotion if I work really hard."

"Well I'm sure you'll get it." Her father happily said.

"Where's Jeff?" Her mother asked.

"He's running some errands, getting a few things for the baby."

"And how is my grandson doing?" Aran proudly asked.

Annie walked over to the crib and gently lifted Peter into her arms. She brought the cooing baby over to the screen, who babbled and reached out to the screen. "He's getting so big." Aran exclaimed.

"He just started crawling last week. It won't be long before he's walking."

"Make sure you baby proof the entire house. Babies get into everything." Ilma said. "When you started walking you got into my study and chewed up three of my budget papers." She looked over and beckoned her hand off screen. "Gwendel, come say hi to your sister and nephew."

Annie smiled as her little sister came into the frame of the screen. "Hi Annabelle."

"Hi Gwendel."

"Mom and dad said I might be able to visit you and Jeff soon. If I promise to keep my wings inside that is."

"That would be really great. I know I have a long weekend in October. If it's all right with mom and dad you can come then."

"OK! I know when October is!" She proudly stated, happy that she already knew the months of the human calendar.

"That sounds very nice." Ilma said.

They all talked for twenty more minutes, catching up on the various aspects of their lives. When it was time to go the fairies said goodbye to Annie, Peter and Jeff (who arrived ten minutes after Annie first got the call), telling them they would call again soon. As the crystal shrank back to its original size Annie smiled at how lucky she was. She had two families who loved her dearly, a good job, a beautiful baby boy, and a fantastic husband.

Life was good.


End file.
